Claret Asset Management Corp Sells 2,301 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Claret Asset Management Corp reduced its position in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,541 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 2,301 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Orion were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Orion by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 602,080 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Orion by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,529,000 after buying an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $30,359,000 after acquiring an additional 320,157 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Orion by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,588,000 after buying an additional 188,131 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Orion by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,692,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,721,000 after acquiring an additional 46,939 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Trading Up 1.5 %

Orion stock opened at $11.89 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.15 and its 200 day moving average is $15.13. Orion S.A. has a one year low of $10.50 and a one year high of $26.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $673.79 million, a PE ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.10. Orion had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 20.94%. The business had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $437.03 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Orion Profile

Orion SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings.